Optimum dietary protein levels and protein to energy ratios in olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

The olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus is one of the most commercially important fish species in Korea. In order to formulate better diets for cultured olive flounder we evaluated the optimum dietary protein requirements for larval, fry and juvenile olive flounder, and the optimum dietary protein to energy ratio for juvenile olive flounder. Results of four separate experiments suggested that the optimum dietary protein requirements were 60% in larvae (0.3 g), 46.4–51.2% in 4.1‐g juvenile, and 40–44% in 13.3 g growing olive flounder. The optimum dietary protein to energy ratio based on weight gain, feed efficiency, specific growth rate, and protein retention efficiency was 27–28 mg protein/kJ 2 energy (35 and 45% CP for diets containing 12.5 and 16.7 kJ energylg diet, respectively).